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In the net: Ashish Kumar (Left) and Jyotish Prasad (Right) murdered a Australian tourist |
Stigma on the country
"Both the convicts not only murdered a foreign tourist but also killed the trust of a foreign nation. The offence is stigma on the country, which believes in the policy of 'Atithi Devo Bhava' (guest is god)," Public prosecutor Vinod Kumar Sharma submitted before Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar.
"We can wash the stigma by awarding maximum penalty that is the death sentence," the prosecutor said.
The accused Jyotish Prasad and Ashish Kumar were held guilty on August 4, 2004 for the offences of gangrape, murder, robbery, destruction of evidence and common intention under the Indian Penal Code.
The court, after hearing the arguments partly by both the sides, said it would pronounce the quantum of sentence, which may range from life imprisonment to death penalty after the conclusion of remaining arguments.
Vehemently opposing prosecutor's plea, defence counsel Vikas Arora, said, "Just because a foreign national was killed, different parameters cannot be applied. In a case based on circumstantial evidence death penalty cannot be awarded."
Specific role unascertained
Quoting the 75-page judgement, Arora claimed that the court while holding the duo guilty for the offence but their specific role has not been ascertained and in such a case awarding the extreme penalty was avoidable. "They (convicts) are not habitual offenders and it cannot be said that they cannot be reformed," he said.
